Tuesday, May 30, 2017

The needs of my friends

I haven't posted for a very long time. Today I just want to post that life is good if I ignore the news, and the needs of some of my friends. Life is good if I can keep from feeling the anxiety and overwhelm that seems to be part of my life in 2017.

I think I can get away with ignoring the news some days but not the real needs of my friends for food, housing, useful work and love. I'm big on being a listening ear, a person who can listen without telling them how to solve their problems. But I don't always have the time or skills to follow through on providing real assistance. In that case, can I really say I am big on love?

Today, I have three sets of friends in great need, a neighbor who is losing her SSI, a very capable single mother who can't find a job and housing, and a family with an undocumented person. They are all adults, all doing their best. Can I just go on listening? What would I want from them in the same situation?

Life is good but I get up every morning wondering how to say that when others are in great pain.